Bill-file.



' No. 665,544. Patented Ian. 8, l90l.

' W. M. PEABSE, In

LLLLLLL E.

Aug. 9, 1900.)

oooo a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. PEARSE, JR, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

BILL-FILE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 665,544, dated January 8, 1901. Application filed August 9,1900. Serial No. 26,4;8. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. PEARSE, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Zanesville, in the county of Muskingum and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Bill-File, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel bill-file or holder for statements, bills, receipts, indices, or other record-sheets designed to be retained in proper order for ready reference and to be capable of removal from time to time, as desired.

One object of the invention is to improve the general construction of files or holders of this character and to effect the mounting of the record-sheets in a manner which will permit any individual sheet to be examined or removed without necessity for reversing the positions of the imposed sheets, as in files of ordinary construction.

A further object of the invention is to so organize the holder that the record-sheets, when desired to be removed from above a sheet to which access is desired, are simply swung around in a vertical axis instead of being raised and turned back behind the holder in the ordinary manner.

Still further objects of the invention, subordinate to those enu merated,will hereinafter appear as the necessity for their accomplishment is developed in the succeeding description of the preferred form of the invention illustrated and described in the accompanying drawings and embraced within the scope of the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of my bill file or holder, showing a number of the sheets turned at right angles to the file for the purpose of permitting an examination of an individual record-sheet. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a number of upper sheets elevated above the file-post and turned back for support upon the extension or supporting plate for the purpose of permitting the removal of a sheet or sheets from the file. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the subject-matter of Fig. 2 with part of the holder broken away; and Fig. 4 isadetail perspective view of the sheet-retaining device, comprising the tubular socket, file-post, and keeper.

Referring to the numerals of reference employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the views, 1 indicates a base of the file which is preferably, although not necessarily, of oblong form, and 2 indicates the back of the file, rising at the rear edge of the base 1 and preferably longitudinally coextensive therewith. By the term back I desire to be understood as meaning any vertically-disposed surface against which the edges of the sheets might bear for the purpose of maintaining their orderly arrangement. The platform 1 is designed for the support of the file of record-sheets 3, preferably having some orderly indexed arrangement, as shown, and pierced at one corner by a hollow file-post 4, extending vertically from the platform 1, parallel with and adjacent to the back 2 and somewhat nearer one end of. the frame. As is.clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the record-sheets are in superimposed relation and are adapted to be swung freely in a horizontal plane with the file-post 4 as a vertical axis around which the sheets move for the purpose of exposing any desired sheet for examination.

The accidental removal of the sheets from the file-post 4 is prevented by a keeper 5, substantially U-shaped and having one leg 6 designed to telescope with the hollow post 4, which latter is cut away at one side of its upper end, as indicated at '7, to facilitate the presentation of the leg 6 to the tube or its lateral removal therefromwithout necessity for elevating the lower end of the keeper entirely above the upper end of the post. The other leg 8 of the keeper 5 is somewhat longer than the leg 6 and is slidably retained within a tubular socket 9, set into a suitable opening formed edgewise in the back 2, so that the upper end of the socket when in place is substantially flush with the upper edge of said back.

It will be noted that when the keeper is in engagement with the post 4 it constitutes means for preventing the withdrawal of the record-sheets from the latter; but inasmuch as it is necessary at times to remove certain of these sheets the keeper is designed under certain conditions to be elevated to permit the leg 6 of the keeper to be swung laterally out of engagement with the post 4:, from which the sheets may then be withdrawn in an obvious manner. To permit this elevation and swinging of the keeper, the socket 9 is provided with an angular or bayonet slot 10, within which is guided a pin or projection 11, extending from the leg 8 of the keeper, so that as the keeper is elevated the pin will move along the vertical portion of the slot and will then pass into the horizontal upper end thereof to retain the keeper in its elevated position as it is swung laterally out of engagement With the post 4. Broadly considered this arrangement of the keeper and the hollow post and socket is not novel; but I have premised that the manipulation of the record-sheets is distinguished from that characterizing the use of files of ordinary construction, and attention is therefore called to the fact that the keeper is located adjacent to one end of the frame and that the post pierces the record-sheets closely adjacent to one corner thereof. The purpose of this latter peculiarity is to permit any number of sheets to be swung around the post to the position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings for the purpose of exposing the under sheets without permitting the sheets so swung to fall into disorderly arrangement or position, as it will be seen that the end edges of these sheets will when swung to a position at right angles to the file abut against the back 2 of the latter, the corner of each sheet adjacent to the post being rounded, as indicated in Fig. 1, or the back being cut out in an obvious manner to permit the side edges of the sheets to lie fiat against the back underusual conditions and the end edges thereof to assume a similar position when certain of the sheets'are swung around to the right. This same relative position of the upper sheets is maintained when it is necessary to remove the keeper from the post to permit the withdrawal of any individual sheet or sheets. To the attainment of this end the recnrved portion of the keeper 5, connecting the legs 6 and 8, instead of extending in the form of an arch is bent down to a horizontal position to form a laterally-disposed stop 12, and just above this keeper an extension or supportingplate 13 is screwed upon the upper edge of the back? and is of suflicient width to extend a considerable distance beyond the front face of the hack to facilitate the support of the upper sheets in a manner which will be made apparent.

When it is desired to remove a sheet from the file, the record-sheets located thereabove are elevated and swung to the right. As the sheets are moved to a position above the post 4 they strike the stop 12 of the keeper and cause the elevation of the latter to withdraw the leg 6 from the post. The sheets are then swung farther and are deposited upon the extension or supporting plate 13, this movement causing the keeper to be swung laterally out of engagement with the post at to permit the removal of any desired record-sheet, but it should be observedthat the slot 10 in the tubular socket is not of sufficient length to permit of the lower end of the keeper-leg 6 to be elevated to the horizontal plane of the plate, and said leg will therefore he moved against the back of the file, and the sheets which have been swung away from the post will be supported upon the plate 13 and will be prevented from accidental removal from the keeper. When the desired sheet or sheets have been withdrawn from the post,thekeeper and the several sheets carried thereby are returned to their normal positions from the position indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 and the filed sheets are again positioned for any reference.

It will be noted that the supporting-plate 13 constitutes a rest, and it will appear that while the employment of this plate is perhaps desirable the sheets when elevated and swung around in the manner stated might be supported directly upon the back or upon any other character of rest. In certain of the claims, therefore, I shall employ the term rest, by which I mean any structure upon which the sheets may rest when swung back in the manner stated.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have produced a simple, novel, and highlyefficient bill file or holder which eliminates the necessity of reversing the positions of the sheets in the usual manner and which facilitates the examination ofany individual sheet or sheets or their entire removal from the file without disturbing the orderly arrangement of the sheets located above or below.

WVhile the present embodiment of the invention appears at this time to be preferable, I wish to reserve the right to effect such changes, modifications, and variations as may be properly comprehended Within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is 1. A bill-file comprising a base having a back, a file-post adjacent to the back, and a series of record-sheets pierced at one corner by said post to permit said sheets to abut against the back in different positions of the former.

2. A bill-file comprising a base and an elevated rest, a file-post extending from the base, a U-shaped keeper having one end arranged for engagement with the post, said keeper being capable of longitudinal and lateral movement, and means for preventing the elevation of the post-engaging end of the keeper to a position above the rest, whereby record-sheets pierced by said end and supported upon the rest will be retained against disengagement from the keeper.

3. A bill-file comprising a base and back, a hollow file-post extending from the base, a slotted tubular socket set into the back, a U- shaped keeper having one end slidably engaged within the socket and its opposite end arranged for engagement with the post, a pin extending from the keeper through the slot in the socket to prevent sufficient elevation of the keeper to move the post-engaging end thereof above the back of the file, and a series of recordsheets pierced at one corner by the file-post to permit said sheets to abut against the back in different positions of the former.

4. A bill-file comprising a base and back, a file-post extending from the base adjacent to the back, a keeper carried by the back and arranged for engagement with the post, a series of record-sheets pierced at one corner by the post, and an extension-plate supported upon the back adjacent to the keeper.

5. A bill-file comprising a base and back, a tubular keeper-socket provided with a bayonet-slot and set edgewise into the back, a hollow file-post extending from the-base adjacentto one end thereof, a U-shaped keeper having one leg slidable Within the socket and having a pin engaging the slot thereof, the other leg of the keeper being designed for engagement with the post, a series of recordsheets pierced at one corner by the post and normally abutting ed gewise against the back, and an extension-plate carried by the back adjacent to the keeper and designed for the support of the sheets, the slot-and-pin connection between the socket and keeper being arranged to prevent the elevation of the postengaging end of said keeper above the upper edge of the back.

6. A bill-file comprising a base and back, a hollow file-post extending from the base, and a keeper telescoping the file-post and provided at its upper end with a laterally-projecting stop, whereby the keeper will be ele vated by the record-sheets stored upon the file, as said sheets are raised for purposes of inspection.

7. A bill-file comprising a base, a hollow post, a U-shaped keeper arranged to engage the post and having its upper end bent laterally to form a stop, and a supporting-plate located above the base and adjacent to the keeper.

8. A bill-file comprising a base and back, a slotted file-post extending from the base adjacent to the back, a tubular socket set into the back and provided with a bayonet-slot, a U-shaped keeper having one leg received in the socket and provided with a pin engaging the slot thereof, the other leg of said keeper being designed for engagement with the-file-post and the curved portion of the keeper being bent laterally to form a horizontal stop, a series of record-sheets pierced at one corner by the post, and an extensionplate mounted upon the back adjacent to the keeper.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM M. PEARSE, JR.

Witnesses:

C. E. SWINGLE, CASSIUS M. BARTHOLOMEW. 

